Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, seated in front of the window at left, on Wednesday leads discussion of a bill on Board of Regents accountability.

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The Iowa Board of Regents was harshly criticized Wednesday by some members of a Senate panel considering a bill that would prohibit regents from engaging in political activities and require them to be more involved with the public.

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, said the bill is a response to a series of controversies over academic freedom and the level of transparency in the board's decisions. One of those prompted U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin to withdraw plans to leave his congressional papers at an institute at Iowa State University.